A Blessing in Disguise
by LoneHowl
Summary: A cat with red eyes. A bird with black wings. Seperate, they're nothing. Together, they're strong. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Can the bird with red wings bring the cat back from the point of no return?
1. 1: In the Cold

A Blessing In Disguise  
  
Disclaimer:  
A, B, C, D, E, F, G,  
The lawyers are chasing me.  
One's in red, One's in blue,  
The both shout out,  
"Beyblade's not from you!"

* * *

The girl with red eyes and a cat-like mind shall become one of the most  
powerful Bladers in the world.  
A cat's heart and a blackbird's spirit shall be her guide.  
She worships three, but only two shall return her respect.  
The last will choose her forever. Fear and respect the girl with the cat's mind, for it will prove useful in the future.

* * *

My name is Meganera la Blanca Tigressa. I lived originally in China, I guess, before I lived in America. I can't remember if I had. I never really was sure of my heritage. I'm a neko-jin, like Rei Kon from the Bladebreakers. This is my story.

* * *

I was outside launching off my Beyblade. I'm a fangirl of Kai on the show, so naturally I have a Dranzer blade. I launched my blade again and it hit the wall hard. The bit chip came flying out of the blade for like the dozenth time that day. I had been able to track down a Drigger blade, and hadn't put it together yet. I love Rei too. That's a fangirl for ya. I looked at my watch. 7:30 am. CRAP!! Beyblade is starting! I snatched up the blade and bit chip and flicked on the TV just in time for the theme song.

"Picking up speed  
  
Runnin' out of time  
  
Going head to head  
  
It's a way of life  
  
You gotta fall down  
  
make ground  
  
to get back up again.  
  
Let's Beyblade!  
  
Spinning it out  
  
at the speed of sound  
  
gonna rip it up  
  
nothin' betta in town  
  
an' the team with the bey  
  
OKAY  
  
is the one that's gonna win!  
  
LET'S BEYBLADE!  
  
BEYBLADE  
  
Ohhhh  
  
LET'S  
  
BEYBLADE!  
  
LET'S  
  
BEYBLADE!  
  
BEYBLADE  
  
LET IT RIP!!

"All right! Only a second to spare!" I sat down and didn't move for a full 30 minutes. It was the final episode between Tyson and Tala. This beybattle would decide it all. Tala was cute and all, but I knew Tyson would win.

Oh, I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Megan. Well, that's my nickname, anyway. I have a pale complexion, medium long black hair with white bangs, and red eyes. People think that they are contacts, but no matter how hard I try; I can't get them to believe me. I'm somewhat thin and I am strong. I'm the only one at school with red eyes and one of the only people who likes Beyblade. I'm a Blader, a pathetic one, but a Blader nonetheless.

As soon as the episode was over, I went outside with my blade again and launched it off. Instead of spinning for a couple of minutes like usual, it stopped and balanced on its tip.

"Hey! You're SUPPOSED to spin around in the dish! Why aren't you spinning?!" I yelled. Yeah, yeah, I know it was stupid to yell at an inanimate object. But hey, I was still in what I call 'Blader Mode'. The blade stayed in its spot, so I figured that I launched it wrong. One of my Beyblades will stay upright when stopped if launched the wrong way. I shrugged off the strangeness and when I went to pick it up to re-launch it, it started to spin at a speed so fast that it started to smoke. My blood red eyes went wide as I backed away. What was going on? I felt a pain in my head and the last thing I saw was a bright flash of gold and blue light.  
  
Kai's POV  
  
We were walking back to the hotel we were staying at. Tyson was moaning about food, like usual, and Rei, Kenny, and Max were discussing new techniques. We walked by an alley when I say a flash of gold and blue. I went to investigate. I walked into the alley and found a girl lying there. She was wearing what looked like summer clothes from America and a golden phoenix on a thin chain around her neck. Her black hair was covering her face. She looked to be about my age, 14. In her hand was a small figurine. Upon closer inspection, the figurine was of me. It was worn and the paint on it was chipping, like it had gotten a lot of love over the years. It was worn in certain places, like it had been held in those spots between her fingers. I picked up the girl and put the figurine in my pocket.

"Hey, guys, look what I found!" I called to the rest of the gang. I carried the girl out of the alley. Rei came over with Max and Kenny to see the girl. I handed her to Rei and took off my coat. I put the coat on her and took her back. We got to the hotel quickly and Rei insisted we put the girl in his room. He unlocked the door and I gently laid the girl down. Rei called for Mariah to get her a change of clothes and to get her into a T-shirt or something dry. Mariah came up with one of her older outfits and Rei and I left the room.

Megan's POV  
  
I woke up feeling like I had been hit in the head with a rock. Not a nice feeling. I looked around and noticed 2 things. One, I wasn't at home. Two, I was anime-ized. Wait, ANIME-IZED?! What the hell? How did I get anime- ized?! At least I wasn't chibi-fied or plushie-ed... I looked around the room for anything familiar.

Let me see... I was in a hotel room. The only thing out of place was something on the nightstand. A beyblade. It was a green and white combination blade and had a really cool bit chip. It took a moment to register what was actually ON the bit chip. Drigger. I closed my eyes to make sure it wasn't an illusion. I opened my eyes and the first thing I saw was that the blade was gone. So it WAS an illusion! I sat up. I noticed that I was only dressed in a VERY loose T-shirt. Then I heard a floorboard groan and I saw a person walking away. I froze. Rei. One of my favorite characters.

Must resist urge to charge and glomp the kawaii neko-jin ... Must resist... Hey, I wonder if he has the adorable pointy ears I've heard so much about... (AN: HELL YEAH!) He turned around to see that I was awake. I blushed when I remembered what I was wearing.

"Ah, so you're up. Good, you've been out for a while." He said with a smile. I saw his cute fangs and practically melted. Rei must have found me. (AN: how wrong she is.) I was blushing; I must have been, because my face felt hot. Rei smiled again and left the room.

I looked out the window of the room. Snow? Word association time! Snow = Cold. Cold = Russia. Russia = Tournament. Tournament = Bio-Volt. Bio-Volt = Demolition Boys. Demolition Boys = Tala!

I looked at the table in the room. On it were a pink Chinese dress-thing that had red roses on it, white pants and those black shoe-things. If I didn't know better, I'd say those were Mariah's. My white scrunchie was still on my wrist so I put my hair back in a loose bun.

"Ugh. Pink, ick..." I moaned. I got up and dressed. A disturbing thought crossed my mind. WHO got me out of my other clothes?! I decided I didn't want to know as I walked out of the room and head on into someone, falling to the floor. I looked up from the floor and almost fainted. I rubbed my eyes and looked again.

Rei AND Kai were standing in the hallway. I thought I was going to die of either embarrassment or joy as I stood up. Suddenly, I lost my balance. I was about to hit the floor again when two pairs of hands caught me. I looked up to see Kai holding one of my arms, Rei holding the other. I blushed so red that my face must have matched my eyes in color. Rei let me go and Kai did the same. They both smiled. Wait, Kai SMILED?! I must have hit my head harder then I thought. It took my all to keep from squealing and glomping like the true fangirl that I was. Damn they're cute!

"Kawaii..." I breathed as I regained my balance. "So kawaii..." Kai and Rei said nothing as they led me downstairs to the dining hall, though I know at least Rei heard me. Damn a cat's good hearing.

"Damn, these Russians can really decorate..." I murmured as we walked. Kai glanced at me but stayed silent. Typical.  
  
When we got to the dining hall, I immediately noticed two things. One, there was a mountain of dishes. Two, Tyson was sitting behind them all, scarfing down more food. (AN: ok, a little exaggeration there. But who can blame me?!)

"Why would I not be surprised if he's sick for a week after all that food? Tell me, when did he start eating?" My last question was made towards Rei. Only because Kai probably wouldn't have answered.

"Oh, about an hour or so ago. Maybe longer." He said while shaking his head in an embarrassed sort of way. I slightly blushed and started to play with my golden phoenix necklace.

"Why am I not surprised?"

"Do you Beyblade?" Max asked as he walked over.

"I'm pathetic. Plain and simple. I'm good at making strategies, though." I answered. I wasn't expecting anyone to ask me, but I replied with ease.

"What kind of blade do you like to use?" Kenny had come over.

"What is this, some kind of 'Ask the new girl questions' meeting?! Ok, I like to use combination blade."

"Hey, Rei, who's the girl?" Tyson had finished eating (read as 'stopped stuffing his face long enough to talk').

"I don't know. She's the one that Kai found out in the alley without a coat or anything, remember? She never told her name or anything." Rei replied.

"My name is Meganera (megan-ra) la Blanca Tigressa (AN: yes, I made up that name myself.). It basically means 'Meganera the White Tigress.' My mother said that it was on the tag of my blankets when she found me. I'm adopted. But please, call me Megan or Meg. I hate my long name." I saw Rei's surprised face. "Completely coincidental, I'm sure. I didn't get to choose my name, Rei." I said.

* * *

Well, since I only got 1 review for Dream Within A Dream, I decided to post something new. R&R!


	2. 2: Waking Up

-in a waitress voice- Chapter up! -sweatdrops- Yeah, I know, that was lame...

Disclaimer: Think people. If I owned this, don't you think that the series would have been WAY different?

Well, keep reading.

* * *

"You don't seem like the smart strategist type to me." came a digital voice.

"You should talk, Dizzara. After all, you don't seem like the Bit-beast type to me." I said sweetly. I swear, if Dizzi had a face, and if looks could kill, I would be a little grease spot on the floor right now. I almost laughed at the thought of a digital face glaring. Kai just stood in the corner and Tyson was laughing. Max was giggling and Rei was trying to keep a straight face. I walked over to Kai.

"Kai Hiwatari, age... 14, I think, captain of the Bladebreakers. Bitbeast name is Dranzer. You were the former leader of the Blade Sharks." I whispered. Kai heard me, unfortunately. He said nothing, but kept a closer eye on me. Before we left, I was able to snag a couple of cookies.

-:-:-:-:-

I tagged along with the team at they went around with their warm-ups and training. They had gone to some sort of park to train and were having a sort of match between them. They had paired up and were going to have a Beybattle with their assigned partners.

"...And remember, no using Bitbeasts." Kenny had finished laying the ground rules.

"Damn... Get rid of the best part of the battle, why don't ya?" I grumbled. "And I've always wanted to see a Bitbeast up close, too."

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that. First match: Max vs. Rei." The two got out their blades. "Three..." Blades went into the launchers. CLICK.

"Two..." Rip-cords were set into place.

"One..." Launch stances were taken. Rei went into that totally adorable crouch he always does. His hair went into the place where it looks like a cat's tail. How he keeps his hair in that tie, I will never know. GOD, he has so much hair. And it's so beautiful!

"Let it rip!"

"Go Draciel!"

"Drigger!" I was sitting as close as I was allowed, courtesy of Kenny. Just for the records, I was a good five or six feet away. I could still see the blades connecting and sparking. I kept chanting

"Go, Rei, go Rei, go Rei..." I was absorbed in the battle until I heard Kenny calling me.

"Megan, come here and help me."

"Um... Ok. What do you need?"

"I need help in making a strategy for Max. He needs another way to win other than defense."

"Well, Rei's blade is made for speed, so forget charging... How about he does the bait and attack method? Wait until the opponent comes at him then attack at the last second. That way, it's his power and the force from the speed the other person was coming at him with."

"Wow." I turned my attention back to the battle. Needless to say, Rei won in the end.

"YAY!! Go Rei, go Rei, go Rei!" I cheered. Rei looked at me in the cute surprised way of his. Kai looked at me too. I blushed at getting attention from them both. Rei came and sat down next to me. I blushed even harder. He smiled warmly at me. Forget blushing, I wanted to melt into a puddle of little red hearts right there. My face must have been so red that it made my eyes look pink. Rei decided to break the silence between us, thank god.

"I didn't expect you to be cheering for me. It really gave me a confidence boost." He said.

"Yeah, well... Once a fan, always a fan." I said lamely. Yeah, try fangirl. Then I had a thought. "Hey, Rei, I heard from somewhere that you had pointy ears. Is that true?" I asked. Rei smiled again and pulled back some of his gorgeous black hair to show his ears. So they ARE pointed! "Aw, kawaiikawaiikawaiikawaii!" I squealed. I bounced up and down like a hyper-active five-year-old on sugar high.

That's when another team walked into the park. The White Tigers. I am a rabid Mariah hater. I can't stand her. Now, if she liked Lee, then I might be able to tolerate her. But no, she has to have a crush on Rei. MY Rei. Ok, enough of my endless babbling.

Mariah noticed me sitting next to Rei and glared. I glared right back. She hissed at me. It actually sounded like a cat's hiss, too. Scary. I narrowed my eyes at her and whispered, "Ooh, kitty's got claws." She narrowed her eyes right back. I marched up to her and she walked up to me.

"Stay away from Rei and we'll be fine." We said at the same time. I looked at her.

"Ya know, if I didn't hate you so much, we could probably be friends." I said to her. I walked away from her and sat back down. The battle between Kai and Tyson ended in a draw. A little disappointing, but I expected it. Kai and Tyson are about even in skill. Well, Tyson has luck, not skill. I was staring at Rei when I noticed something. Him and all of the White Tigers have amber eyes and the ears and fangs. Neat! Meanwhile, it had started to snow.

-:-:-:-:-

"Team, we have to get back! It's getting late!" Kenny called.

The Bladebreakers rounded up their stuff and started to leave. I pulled out my (slightly squinched [squished]) cookies and started to munch on them. Tyson instantly was in front of me with his hands out. He said nothing, but his eyes practically screamed "Please, please, PLEASE can I have one?!"

"Mine!" I said as I held the cookies closer to me. I must have sounded like a seven-year-old. "Mine, mine, mine! Go find your own! These are mine! Mine!" I glared at him. "They're mine." I growled. I finished my munchies and Tyson walked away sadly. Max was laughing.

"Aw, man, Tyson, she got you good!" he said.

"Man, who knew she was that possessive?" Tyson said.

"Embrace it. Fear it." I said sweetly. _Mew... Mew..._ came from an alleyway. I stopped walking and twitched my ears. Rei did the same.

"Did you guys hear that?" he asked. The rest of the team shook their heads.

"I didn't hear anything." Kai said. Tyson, Max, and Kenny murmured in agreement.

"I heard it. What was it?" I asked. Everyone but Rei shook their heads. He looked around and pointed to an alley to my left.

"There. It came from over there." I ran over the icy snow, without so much as sliding, and into the alley. Thank you, cold American winters! _Mew... Mew..._

I walked around a little, this time sliding a bit, as the mewing got louder. I walked over to a cluster of boxes and looked inside the first one. Nothing. I looked in the second one. A bit of trash, but nothing else. I came to the third box and looked inside. I reached in and pulled out a gray tabby kitten. I took off one of my gloves and wrapped it around the cat.

I walked out of the alley with the cat in my arms, er, hands. Everyone came over to see the little bundle, save for Tyson. Yes, even Kai's curiosity got the better of him. He'll have to work on that. "Aw, look how cute the little guy is!" Max exclaimed.

"So it's a stray. Big friggin' whoop. I wanna get back to the hotel to eat dinner. I'm starved." Tyson said from his spot near the alley. (AN: yeah, yeah, Tyson's a bit OOC. I needed that to make this part work. Sorry.) That got me pissed, and believe me, if someone gets me pissed; you had better run behind some three inches of reinforced steel. I handed the kitten off to someone, Max, I think, and walked calmly over to Tyson. But that was about the only thing calm about me. Like I said, three inches of reinforced steel.

"Tyson, you are a heartless bastard. All you care about is feeding yourself when there is a tiny starving kitten trying to fend for itself out here in the middle of winter! See, even KAI cared a little bit! But NOOOO, you had to go and be Mr. I-Want-Food-Now-So-Let's-Leave-The-Poor-Little-Cat-To-It's- Frozen-Doom-Because-I-Care-More-About-My-Stomach-Than-It's-Health! Ya know, I hate people who care more about themselves than they do about a poor little creature."

After I finished ranting, I ran off. I was so furious that my eyes were beginning to water. It had taken what little willpower I had left not to punch him across the face. I heard the team calling after me, saying that I didn't know how to get around Moscow at all. Hell, KAI could navigate better than me. Well, yeah, considering he's Russian to begin with... I just kept running.

I was so mad that I did't watch where I went. That was a big mistake that I would regret later.

* * *

There. And yes, I do like cats. Very much. -huggles Rei plushie- Rei, Kai, or Tala plushies to reviewers! -takes out a huge bag of plushies- R&R! 


	3. 3: Training Schedules

Ok, long chapter to compensate for the short one in IoPQ: Kibou no Hikari. Oh, and please see my bio for a notice. And there's a spoiler. Lucky you.

Disclaimer: no own. no sue. Simple, ne?

* * *

Left! Right! Dodge the people, dodge! Through the alley! Jump over the trash! Hop the fence! Out, left! Left! Right! I got tired from running through snow and came to a stop. I'm surprised I even had that much energy. My coat had disappeared a while ago, while I was hopping the fence.

I looked around at where I was. The large building I stopped in front of looked vaguely familiar... Maybe it was in the background scene in an episode or something? Is it me, or did it suddenly get colder than it was? Maybe it was from all the running. I looked at the sky. The sun was setting fast and I needed a place to stay so I moved towards the building. I stumbled. Why was I suddenly so tired? I didn't run for THAT long. Plus, I was on adrenaline rush.

I started to walk, no, STAGGER, closer to the building. My vision was starting to get fuzzier and fuzzier by the minute. Someone came out of the building, but my sight was so blurry by then that I could only make out a big patch of flaming orange and bright white with blue. My mind was numb, so that little bit of info didn't register that well. I fell to my knees. Or, I think I did, seeing as I had lost the feeling in them about three seconds before. The blurry white figure came closer to me. I was about to collapse when they caught me. That's when I was able to barely make out their face. Tala. My breathing started to get faster and I had just one crystal-clear thought.

'_Holy hell, I know where I am now._'

Then I blacked out.

-:-:-:-:-

I woke up to the sound of voices. Very familiar voices. From what I could tell, they were on the other side of a door. I moaned as my head throbbed.

"...She could be a... valuable addition to... team."

"But she... already be... a team."

"We... change that. We can...nwash her and get her to... Black Dranzer if... won't."

"Yes sir." So I was in the Abbey. Oh, joy.

"But she will need to be nursed back to health. Her high fever will no doubt leave her out of commission for at least two days. But we can fix that."

"Yes sir. I'll go... if she woke... yet."

"Very well, Tala." A door opened and I heard footsteps enter the room. I rolled over onto a cool place on the pillow. The footsteps came closer and a cool hand pressed itself to my forehead. A weight settled on the edge of the bed/cot. Cool hand... I sighed. If I had listened very carefully, I could have heard the faint sound of machinery working.

I opened my eyes a little to see Tala standing over me. Had I been feeling better, I would have covered my face so he wouldn't see me blushing, but my fever made me weaker than normal. Thankfully, I was probably flushed from the fever anyway. Tala got up and walked out of the room. I heard some more talking.

"... Still feverish... not... feverish as... before... Will be fine soon with... care..."

"...Wonderful. She will be... perfect user... Black Dranzer..." That was all I caught before I fell asleep again.

-:-:-:-:-

"Girl... Girl, wake up." Someone said as they shook me gently.

"I wanna sleep... Sleep's nice..." I slurred. "'M not a mornin' person..." I rolled over.

"Girl, you had better get up if you don't want Master Boris to get angry at you." The person, who I identified as Tala, said quietly.

"The girl's got a name, ya know..." I murmured. "Use it, please..."

"I would if I knew the girl's name."

"Name's Megan... Now lemme 'lone. Head hurts..." Then my mind finally completely registered who I was talking to. I sat straight up.

"Thank you. Now get ready. Your uniform is over there." Tala said, pointing to a table some three feet away. He got up and left the room.

'_If I get to see Tala, then I'll gladly get up._' I thought. I stood up and swayed a little. I sat back down. '_Or not._'

Slowly, I tried to stand up. A little wobbly, but okay. I slowly took a few steps to the table. The uniform was gray. All gray. If you had ever seen the part where they are training the Bladers, you'd know what I'm talking about.

'_Stupid blank colors... Couldn't be blue or red or green, or even yellow, but no it has to be gray..._' I put on the uniform and walked out the door. Tala was standing there waiting for me.

"Come with me. Master Boris would like to have a word with you before you go to the infirmary for treatment." He said. I nodded.

-:-:-:-:-

"Man, HOW could we just LET her run off like that?!" Tyson fumed.

"YOU'RE the one who pissed her off, Tyson, so it's your fault." Max replied.

"Yeah, if you hadn't been so self-centered, she wouldn't have run off." Rei put in.

"Would you guys stop fighting? We need to find her. She could get hurt or get captured by Bio-Volt if we don't." Kenny said. (AN: if only they knew, right?)

"C'mon, let's go. She needs to be found." Kai said at last. He slid his hand into his pocket and fingered the figurine. The others walked out the door, but Rei pulled Kai into a corner.

"Kai, I think there's more to this girl than meets the eye." He said.

"Why do you think that, Rei?"

"Think about it. She came out of nowhere, her name means 'the white tigress', and she had the white streaks in her hair. Don't get me wrong, those could have been dyed or bleached, but they didn't look fake or smell like any chemicals. And there were a lot of different scents on her, like she spends time with a lot of cats and at least one dog, if not more. And when she was in Mariah's clothes, I found out that one of the cat scents was actually hers. It was weird."

"I agree." Kai replied. He pulled the figurine out of his pocket. "She had this in her hand when I found her. It also had some sort of hair on it. She may just be a normal girl, but I've never seen these figurines before. She may have gotten it from a bad place. I'd watch out for her. The hair that was on this was also all over her clothes."

"Well, I'll keep an eye on her when-"

"If."

"-if we find her. I don't know why, but she seems to have an easier time talking to me and maybe even you than anyone else. She might tell us where she's from. C'mon, we have to go. Chief and the others are waiting."

"Right."

"Oh, and Kai?"

"Yeah, Rei?"

"Thanks for hearing me out."

"Any time, Rei."

-:-:-:-:-

Tala led me down numerous hallways and corridors. Left, straight, right, left, left, right, left, right... I stopped counting after a while. Finally, we came to a stop. My head started to ache dully again, so I knew that I was still sick. I felt fine through the entire trip.

"Are you coming?" asked Tala.

"Uh, yeah." I murmured. I followed Tala into what looked like the control room.

"Master, I have brought the girl." He said as he bowed to Boris.

"Very good, Tala. Girl—"

"My name is Megan." I cut in.

"Fine." Boris held up a Beyblade. It looked like Rei's model but it was blue, not green, and it had a blank bit chip. "Can you identify this style?"

"It's a combo blade made for speed. Its weakness is that it has little defense."

"Very good. And this one?" He held up a red blade similar to Tyson's.

"That one is made for attack. Its weakness is that it is slower with little defense." He said nothing but held up a yellow one like Max's.

"Defense. The weakness is that it's very slow."

"One last one." This one looked like Kai's but was black. Black with a design on the bit chip. I stared.

"...Black Dranzer..."

"Very good. You seem to know what certain Beyblades do. Yes, you will be perfect." Boris said to me. I wasn't listening. Black Dranzer. That is the most powerful blade in the world next to Dragoon. God, if only I could even TOUCH it...

"Are you listening?" Boris' voice cut through my fantasies involving Black Dranzer.

"Am I supposed to be?" I asked. My headache was staring to make me irritable now.

"I see that you are still wild. We will have to fix that."

"Before you 'fix' me, can I send a note to someone?"

"To whom, out of curiosity?"

"A... friend. I just want to let him know that I'm ok."

"Very well. I will have paper and pen brought to your room when you get back. Tala!"

"Yes sir?" Tala stood at attention.

"Take this girl to the infirmary and get her fever treated."

"Yes sir." Tala led me out of the room. Right, left, up the stairs, straight, left, left, right... I lost count after a while. We stopped at a room with some strange writing, most likely Russian, on it. Tala opened the door and pushed me in.

"Hello. I assume you are the girl who needs treatment?" a man in the room said. The man was in his 50s at least and had this friendly feeling about him, making me wonder how the hell he got landed with this job. I nodded mutely.

The man looked at my face and said something to Tala in Russian. Tala, amazingly, went through three shades of red before he bit out a retort. Man, I wish I had a camera! I never thought it was possible for Tala to blush like that! The guy turned white at Tala's comment and asked something in a breathless way. Tala nodded and the guy turned to me.

"You will be getting the best care we can give, by order of Master Tala. Please follow me." I nodded again and followed the guy to another room.  
  
Tala's POV  
  
The nerve of that man! Accusing me of that!  
  
_-Flashback-  
_  
_The girl nodded. Dr. Ichogichi looked at her then turned to me. _

_"You finally find yourself a girl, Tala? A right pretty one, too!" he said to me in Russian. Embarrassed, I replied, _

_"She's not my girl, Doctor. She's the one Master Boris selected for us." Dr. Ichogichi turned white. _

_"She's not... THAT one...?" he said quietly. I nodded. He turned to the girl. She looked like she wanted nothing more than to laugh and not stop. _

_"You will be getting the best care we can give, by order of Master Tala. Please follow me." The girl nodded again and followed the doctor into another room._  
  
_-End Flashback-  
_  
How dare he say that... Besides, I probably lost her to a Bladebreaker, anyway. (AN: ch. you wish, my dear wolf cub...Ok, so maybe you did lose m- her, HER, to a Bladebreaker, so what?) Ah, well, so much for that

* * *

Lucky you, you all get a spoiler. Only one for this story too.

---

Megan's POV

I had to hold back tears as I watched Bryan's Falborg beat the shit out of Drigger and Rei being carried out of the stadium. I had to stop myself from punching him as he walked back, smirking.

From the Blade Breakers, Kai stepped up. Spencer (AN: that's the big one, right? or his he Ian?) was about to go up when Boris stopped him. I still refuse to call him 'Master'

"No, Spencer. Let our new kitten test her skills." I growled a bit when he called me 'kitten'. I walked into the ring and heard the announcer say something.

"...And it looks like a quick change of Bladers from the Demolition boys' team! Spencer was stopped from entering the ring and is being replaced by... What's this?! A girl on the team?! The only name given was 'Tigressa' so that's what we'll call her!" I turned to my opponent. I could see the surprise and hurt in his eyes. I quickly mouthed the words '_I'm sorry, Kai, but I had no choice._' Then I clicked Black Dranzer into my launcher.

"Three..." I put in my rip-cord.

"Two..." I got into my launch stance.

"One..." I gave Kai one last look of pleading. I gasped quietly when he returned it.

"Let it rip!" I pulled my rip-cord.

"Go, Dranzer!" Kai yelled.

"Black Dranzer, go!" I cried with some hesitation.

Both blades hit the dish and the Battle of the Phoenixes began.

* * *

R&R! 


	4. 4: Telling the Gang

Ok, I have two reasons for my lack of updates. 1) FF.N wouldn't let me on. 2) I had writer's block big time.

Disclaimer:

me: Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might; have the wish I wish tonight. I wish I owned Beyblade!

-disembodied voice-: No... You can't own it... You will never own it...

me: damn it.

* * *

How dare he say that... Besides, I probably lost her to a Bladebreaker, anyway. (AN: ch. you wish, my dear wolf cub. ...Ok, so maybe you did lose m- her, HER, to a Bladebreaker, so what?) Ah, well, so much for that.  
  
Megan's POV (AN: what, you expected him to be outspoken?!)  
  
I followed the doctor into the next room. He motioned for me to sit down on the table.

"My name is Dr. Ichogichi. As long as you are here in training, I will be the one to make sure you are healthy." He said to me. I nodded slowly. "What, can't you talk?" he joked.

"Of course I can! I just don't like to talk to strange people in a foreign place for fear of offending someone!" I said snappishly and death-glared. But even that snap was half-hearted and so was the glare. There was something about this man that made him hard to hate.

"So, I need to make medical records of you."

"...You told me this...why?"

"I have a habit of that. Now, I need your name along with any titles you may have." Ichogichi brought out a pen and a medical form. I bit my lip. Titles? "I'm waiting."

"...Megan Misoka Akira Mitsuru. My title is the one I was found with. Meganera la Blanca Tigressa." I said quietly. "I have been told that my title means something important and not to just give it out."

"Age?" Ichogichi ignored my explanation.

"Fourteen."

"Height?"

"Five foot six."

"Weight?"

"Unknown." Ichogichi grinned. "Scale's over there." He pointed. I growled and walked over to it. After looking it over to find the 'On' switch, I was able to get it to work.

"One thirty-six." I mumbled.

"Allergies?"

"None."

"Birth date?"

"Unknown, but celebrated on American New Years."

"Place of birth?"

"Unknown."

"Parents?"

"Foster, Kim Katsura Mitsuru and Matt Nozomu Mitsuru."

"Thank you." Ichogichi got up, put away the papers, and took out a bottle. Out of the bottle, he took a pill. "Take this and it will help your fever." He handed me the pill. Thinking that nothing else could go wrong, I did so. After that, Tala came in and led me out. Tala brought me back to my room. He pointed to a box outside the door.

"Put any mail or messages into that box. It is collected daily." After that, he left. My headache lessening, I sat down at the desk to find grey stationary and a pen. Picking up the pen and a sheet of paper, I began to write a letter to the Bladebreakers.  
  
_Rei, Kai, and whoever else decides to read this: _

_I'm ok. You don't have to worry...  
_  
I wrote a letter that was almost two pages. I sealed and addressed the envelope, then put it in the box. I was just going back into the room when a boy came up to me.

"Master Boris would like to speak with you." I nodded and followed the boy out of my temporary room and all the way to, not an office, but a training room. Confused, I went inside. Let me tell you, walking into a room with the Demolition Boys in it after a long day of new things really tests your limits.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

The Bladebreakers returned to their hotel rooms after searching for their lost friend. Rei walked into his room to find an envelope on his bed. He opened it and read it. Deciding that the rest of the team needed to see it, he called them in.

"What's up, Rei?" Tyson asked.

"It's this letter. I found it on my bed." Rei replied.

"Let me see." Kenny took the letter. He read it out loud.  
  
_Rei, Kai, and whoever else decides to read this: _

_I'm ok. You don't have to worry. ...Ok, maybe you do, but not all that much. Other than a small fever, I'm feeling fine. Kai would be able to find his was around this place easily. If you really want to know where I am, solve this riddle, there's 5 letters but four clues. _

_The start is in agate, amethyst, opal, and emerald; _

_Then in bet and bribe, but not in cry; _

_It's three times in the center and twice in a Beyblade; _

_It's the beginning of you and the end of the sky. _

_Come and get me: --- --- --- --- ---_

_Well, that took all my ideas for poetry for about a week... Please, come for me. I'm not sure, but from what I've heard, I think that they want me to spin for them. _

_Hurry, but don't just come barging in. I don't think that the head honcho would like seeing you too much... Oh, and Chief? If you don't solve the riddle, I'm sure you'll see me at the Tounament. I'll at least be in the stands... I hope... _

_-The White Tigress._  
  
The team sat in silence for a while. Kai took the letter from Kenny and reread it. Then he looked up.

"Rei, hand me a pen." He said. Rei nodded and complied. Kai looked at the riddle and wrote down the letters A and B in the first two blanks. After looking at the third line, he put another B and an E down as well. Rei saw where this was going.

"Aw, man, she can't be there..." he groaned. Kai wrote the last letter, Y, and set the paper on the bed so everyone could see the answer to the riddle.

* * *

There, another chapter for my reviewers.

R&R!


	5. 5: The Awakening

I was hoping to get another chapter out before I leave on Saturday for a week, so here it is!

Disclaimer: Own it?! Nobody in America is THAT lucky!

* * *

The team sat in silence for a while. Kai took the letter from Kenny and reread it. Then he looked up.

"Rei, hand me a pen." He said. Rei nodded and complied. Kai looked at the riddle and wrote down the letters A and B in the first two blanks. After looking at the third line, he put another B and an E down as well. Rei saw where this was going.

"Aw, man, she can't be there..." he groaned. Kai wrote the last letter, Y, and set the paper on the bed so everyone could see the answer to the riddle.

_I'm here: A B B E Y_

---

I stared at the Demolition Boys. There were so many thoughts racing through my head, I had trouble sorting them all out into separate phrases.

'_Oh my god, Tala's here, he's cute, why are they here, what's going on, what's going to happen to me, why am I here, that do they want with me, why does he have Black Drazer with him, do I get to see it, Tala's SO cute..._' Then there was the song stuck in my head... But never mind that.

Unable to stop myself, I just stared at the boys in front of me.

"Boys, this girl, after a bit of training, will join you for the Tournament." Boris said, gesturing to me.

"Yes sir." They all replied as one. I said nothing. Pushing my hair behind my ears, I looked at the floor. Boris was a fool if he thought a week of training would improve my blading skills. That idiot...

Boris ordered Bryan to escort me back to my room and informed me that training would start the following day.

Megan's Journal

Training, Day One, 5 days till tournament

I was right, Boris is an old fool. Today, he had me practice launching a Beyblade. He gave me a standard attack blade and the necessary launcher and ripcord and then left me with my own personal 'trainer'.

I had to resist taking the blade apart to see what parts made it. I always feel better if I know what a blade's made of before I use it.

Well, I used it and my first launch was satisfactory. My second was not. My third was worse. I was ordered about a dozen more times to try again, I had lost count around 17. By my twentieth launch, I was getting pissed. Why couldn't these dumb-wads see that I just wasn't meant to be a Beyblader?!

I tried one more time, out of pure rage, trying to get it right. Closing my eyes, I listened to the man counting down to ripping. Trying to tune him out, I listened to anything else around, which happened to be my heart pounding in my ears. The sound calmed me down. This may sound cliché, but I felt filled with calming energy and I yanked the ripcord. I opened my eyes to see the old blade spinning in the center of the dish.

Convinced it was a fluke, the guys told me to do it again. I listened to my own heartbeat and pulled the ripcord. This time I kept my eyes open to watch as the blade flew into the dish perfectly. After trying it three more times with the same result, the guy told me to stop and return to my room until further notice. Strange thing was, I had only felt the energy that first time.

I got back to my room and flopped on the futon. Then I noticed that my hands were filthy from the old blade parts. I went into the bathroom connected to my room and washed my hands.

I splashed my face with water to get the sweat off of my face as well. I looked into the mirror with my mouth still open from drying my face and gasped. My canine teeth looked like fangs! Not like huge long vampire fangs, but long enough to notice them. Running my tongue over them, I noticed that they were sharper as well. Biting down to close my teeth, I discovered that they fit perfectly like they had before.

Walking back to my bed, I flopped down and waited for the time to eat to come. Looking at the clock, I noticed that I had missed lunch and dinner wasn't for another three hours. I sighed and rolled onto my back. Then I noticed this little book and pen on the desk. Glancing around to make sure that there were no cameras I got up and flipped through it. Empty. Seeing this opportunity, I decided to write this all down. And here I am!

See ya,

-The white tigress.

Training, Day Two, 4 days till tournamnet

Today, Boris had me practice battle against this other new kid that was being trained like I was, just at a slower pace. This was going to be her first battle like me. Taking my place at the right side of the dish, the girl, who was addressed as Marie, took the left side. So far, nobody noticed my newly-pointed teeth.

We looked at each other and took our launch stances. I listened for my heartbeat like yesterday, hoping that it wasn't some freak fluke. Every two beats of my heart, I heard them say a number.

_Thump, thump..._

"Three!"

_Thump, thump..._

"Two!"

_Thump, thump..._

"One!"

_Thump, thump..._

"Let it rip!"

I felt that energy again and yanked the cord. My blade flew into the dish and stayed in the center. Marie's circled mine, like a vulture. I glanced at her face and back at the dish. She had a look of concentration, as if trying to grasp my strategy but not getting anything. Not surprising, since I'm a do-it-as-it-comes kind of person.

Her blade lunged at mine, but, as if reading my mind to dodge, mine moved out of the way. Hers came back for a reverse lunge, but mine dodged once again. In my mind, I pictured my blade moving to center. I had a plan. My Beyblade sat in the center, as if waiting for an order. Marie's blade swung back around, coming for another head-on attack. I tensed.

'_Hold it, hold it... Hold it... NOW!_' I thought, unconsciously running my tongue over my pointed teeth. As I thought that, my Beyblade shot out of the line of fire then came back and rammed into Marie's blade. Her blade shot up the side and out of the dish. I had won.

An hour later, after two more battles, they let me come back to my room. In the bathroom, I looked in the mirror to pull my hair back, as it was getting hot. I pulled it back and gasped at my reflection again. This time, my ears were pointed! Thoroughly creeped out now, I sat on my bed, trying to figure out exactly WHAT was happening to me.

See ya later,

-The white tigress.

Training, Day Three, 3 days till tournament

Ok, this is creeping me out even more now. Today they had me do physical fitness with a female instructor. She had me run for almost ten minutes on a treadmill. I did and hardly broke a sweat! I should have been panting and sweating MUCH worse than I was. After that, she made me do stretching and flexibility exercises. Last year, I would have considered myself REALLY lucky to do a split or be able to touch my toes without bending my knees. Well, today, I did two splits, touched my toes like ten times without feeling the burning in the back of my knees, about fifty chin-ups, and I don't know how many miles on the treadmill. After that was balance. She made me walk along a balance beam for like five minutes. What scared me was that I didn't need to correct my balance like I usually do, like holding my arms out. After saying that I was unusually fit for a person my age, she let me go. Hopefully all these changes will STOP! Creepy much!

-The white tigress

Training, Day Four, 2 days till tournament

I was wrong. The changes didn't stop, they kept going. Lessee... First was my ears getting pointed, then was my teeth getting pointed, then my body getting stronger and more flexible, what next, my sight getting better?! ...I had better not jinx myself...

(later after training) Yep, I jinxed myself, but not exactly the way I thought. Today was focused on controlling my Beyblade. They had a blade launcher shoot Beyblades at mine and I had to have mine dodge them. I was focusing on figuring out the timing for the launcher. There had to be a pattern. Once I figured it out, a blade every thirty seconds, I closed my eyes and listened for my heartbeat. After six beats, I launched my new Beyblade. They had let me build my own so I was more comfortable with it. It was like Kai's model with a little tweaking like a better spin gear and slightly different attack ring.

The trainer guy gave me a challenge. He told me that if I could make my blade get to the other side of the room with full points, he would tell Boris that my training was finished.

The rules were simple. Get to the other side without losing all spin. Every wobble lost me a point down from 10. Every time I beat one of the blades launched at my own I would receive a point.

I nodded and waited for him to say go. He started to count down and I did the heartbeat thing again. 3...2...1... LAUNCH. I pulled the ripcord and started. I tried so hard, but I failed. This trainer wasn't as nice as my others. He yelled at me to get it right. I tried again and got closer, but failed again. This got the guys pissed. He came up to me, stomping his feet so hard I could feel the vibrations in the floor. I backed away, getting REALLY bad vibes. The man reached me before long, however, and what he did next would get him fired if I told Boris. He hit me, slapped me across the face.

Left, right, right, left, left, right, left... Beat the blade... No, a wobble, I should hurry... Left, right, right... Left, left! And... I was there. I looked up. Everything seemed clearer, more defined.

I blinked, shaking my head to clear it. What just happened?

"Very good." He said. He dismissed me and I went back to my room. Now it's two hours later, and I'm still here. I freaked my self out by looking in the mirror and finding that my eye's pupils were slitted. It's like I'm turning into a...cat... Ok, NO thinking that, no need to jinx myself any more than I have already...

End of Journal

I set the pen down and rubbed my fingers. Writing like that hurts! A soft knock on the door made me look up. Bryan walked into the room.

"Master Boris would like to speak with you." he told me. I nodded and followed him. We reached Boris's room. Office was just not the word to describe this place.

"Thank you, Bryan, that's all." Bryan left. "Now that you have been trained, you will need a new outfit." Boris said, getting straight to business. I grinned.

"Just give me the cash, someone who knows the currency, a place to shop, five or so hours, and all will be well." I said. He nodded and, within three minutes, a girl who looked to be only a few years older than me appeared in the doorway. She looked at me with a look that plainly said 'you shop, I handle the cash.'

* * *

Ok, R&R. I need ideas on how to get to the point of the spoiler I gave you a few chapters back. Help?


	6. 6: It Begins

Omg, I an SO sorry for the wait! I hit a block and then i had to work on my other stories and... yeah, you get the picture.

Dis: ok, folks, broke authoress, nothin to see here...

* * *

"Thank you, Bryan, that's all." Bryan left. "Now that you have been trained, you will need a new outfit." Boris said, getting straight to business. I grinned.

"OOH, shopping trip!" I said; all traces of fatigue and exhaustion gone. As much as I was, in a way, a prisoner, I was still a female. And a trip to the mall was just what the doctor ordered.

Boris walked to his desk, pushed a button on it, and babbled something into a speaker in Russian. Two minutes later, a young woman who looked no older than 15 walked through the doors. About a foot into the room, she dropped into a kneeling bow, much like Bryan did when he brought me in. Boris said something to her in rapid Russian and she stood straight. He said something else and she nodded shortly.

"This girl is named Orlenda. She will take you to get clothes. She speaks fluently in a few languages, including your own. You must be back no later than midnight." He said to me, repeating it in Russian for Orlenda. She gave me a look that said 'I'LL handle the cash.' She then grabbed my wrist and led me out.

She literally dragged me through the complex, stopping only once to grab coats before heading outside.

"Follow me. I know BEST shopping spots!" Orlenda said with a thick accent. She sounded very excited, whether it was to go shopping or just to be out of the Abbey, I wasn't sure. She grabbed my hand and I was being once again dragged somewhere. She stopped at what looked like a shopping mall. I followed her in the doors and looked around. It looked just like an American mall, only everything was in Russian except for store names. And even then, some were Russian. Orlenda pulled me into one of them and promptly disappeared into the racks. Sighing, I started to look around.

"Ugh, prep store…" I said as I looked at all the pink. "We would have much better luck in an Old Navy… Or even a Hot Topic…" I started to look through the racks anyway, looking for anything remotely my style. I found an Asian style shirt made of silk that I really liked. It was black, amazingly enough, with red phoenixes and gold flowers on it.

Picking a few things such as the shirt and a few bottoms, I went to try them on. In the end, I settled for a pair of black pants and the shirt. I found Orlenda and she paid for the outfit. Then she dragged me into a store that looked like the Russian equivalent of a Claire's or an Icing. Sighing, I went to find some hair accessories and jewelry. Looking around, I found a pair of hair chopsticks that almost matched my new shirt. They were red with gold flowers. Looking around a bit more, I spotted a deck of Tarot cards. Grabbing those as well, I went to find Orlenda. After paying for them, Orlenda pulled me into a shoestore.

Deciding to stay with the Asian theme, I looked for a pair of shoes. I managed to find platform flip-flops that were lined with black and gold satiny material. Happy with my new stuff, I let Orlenda take me back to the Abbey.

I had just flopped down on the bed when some random Abbey kid knocked on my door.

"Master Boris wants to see you. He says it's important." I nodded and let myself be taken to Boris' room once again.

"Ah, Kitten, there you are." He greeted warmly. I was immediately suspicious. What was going on?

"I have something to give you. A… parting gift, you might say." He looked into the shadows. "Vladimir." The boy who brought me up came from the shadows of the room, holding an ebony wood box. Boris took the box, and held it out for me to open. Slowly lifting the lid, I gasped. Inside, on a blood colored pillow, lay Black Dranzer.

Looking at Boris, I silently asked if I could pick the Beyblade up. When he nodded, I carefully lifted the Blade out of the box.

"That will be your Beyblade from now on. I can only hope you will be better suited for it than its last owner." Boris said. He instructed Vladimir to take my back to my room.

Once I was back in my room, I sat on the bed, examining the Blade closely.

'_Ah, so you are the person who is to be my next holder, little mistress._'

I jumped. '_The hell?!_' I know I heard something. It sounded like it was in my head, but who…?

'_Such language from a lady! Look down at the object in your hands._'

Obeying the voice, I looked at the Beyblade in my hands.

'_Black Dranzer?_' I thought. But how could…?

'_Yes, that's what I'm called._' Now that I think about it, the voice was masculine…

"Weird… I have a Bitbeast in my head, one of the most powerful Blades out there in my hands, and I'm currently in the possession of the organization that wants to dominate the world." I said dryly. "So when are the men in white coats going to be here?"

'_I assure you, you are not crazy._' I looked at the Beyblade.

"Says you." I responded.

'_How about I get your name, first of all, little mistress._' Black Dranzer said.

"I'm Megan. Call me Meg."

'_What about Kitten, since you're a neko-jin?_'

"Wait, neko-jin? Sorry, bud, last I checked, I was human. A little odd, but human."

'_Whatever you think, you are a neko-jin._'

"Whatever. So what should I call you? I mean, Black Dranzer is a little long for a name."

'_Call me Kuro if you must have a name for me._'

"'Black'? Ok, Kuro."

'_I suggest you go to sleep, little mistress. If I'm correct, you have a long day ahead of you tomorrow._'

"Yeah, yeah." I sighed. Getting into the night clothes that had been provided for me that week, I slipped under the covers. "Night, Kuro."

'_Good night, little mistress._'

DREAM

_I was running. I don't know what I was running from; I just know that if I stopped, it would do something bad to me. The land around me was dyed red, and the only things not red were pitch black shadows. There was an ominous wind blowing. As it blew through the trees, I could almost hear words in the leaves._

_Fledglings of the Phoenixes_

_There will be two Fledglings_

_One light, the other dark._

_They will do great things_

_Yet on the inside be torn apart._

_They will meet in battle_

_And only one can win._

_Light is consumed by the darkness,_

_The darkness is banished by the light._

_Daughter of the tigers,_

_Let your wings take flight!_

_Suddenly, a path ahead of me is lit up. Whatever was behind me is still chasing me, so I take the path. I keep running._

_Then I trip over a rock in my path. Black Dranzer falls out of my pocket as I hit the ground. The thing behind me is practically on top of me. I brace myself for the pain that I know is coming when a flash of dark light comes from my Beyblade. The thing that was chasing me was revealed as the original Dranzer. The black light was Kuro._

_The two Dranzers fight for dominance for a minute or two. Both are at equal strength, and I can see that neither will win. Getting off the ground I jump between them._

"_Stop! You have to stop or else both of you will die!" I cried. The original Danzer snorts and it turns into a thin beam of light. The beam comes straight at me and goes through my heart…_

END DREAM

I gasped as I bolt upright. Putting my right hand on my chest right over my phoenix pendant, I tried to calm my pounding heartbeat.

'_Are you alright, little mistress?_' I jump.

"I'm never gonna get used to that… Just a nightmare, Kuro. I'll be fine, probably just nerves." I respond.

'_Care to talk about it?_'

"Not really. I'll be fine, so let me go back to sleep." I rolled over and tried to fall asleep again, but I couldn't get the nightmare out of my head. Sighing, I got out of bed and turned on the light.

Going over to the desk, I picked up my new cards and began to shuffle them. It was the dragon deck, so all the cards had dragons on them. After shuffling, I spread three cards in a row on the desk. Flipping them one at a time, I read them. Queen of Coins, reversed Six of Coins, and Queen of Swords. Past, present, future. Wanting to get better at what I did, being too generous, and being determined, but sort of anti-social.

"Oh what a bright future I have…" I said sarcastically. Putting the three cards back, I went back to bed, feeling much better.

The next day, I was woken up early by Orlenda.

"Come, we must get you ready for today!" she said cheerfully. She literally bounced over to my desk, where my new outfit was. Grabbing it, she dragged me out of the bed, where I was fully intending to fall asleep again.

"No, no, you must get up. You must be ready for tournament!" she said.

"Fine, fine…" I mumbled, getting dressed. I was slipping Kuro into my belt pouch when Orlenda turned me around and started to mess with my hair. Soon it was up in a bun with the chopsticks through it.

"There, now you're ready." She said happily. "Oh, Master Boris told me to give this to you." She said, handing me a black launcher and ripcord. Nodding, I put them in with Kuro. Putting all my things in a black bag that was provided for me, I was heading towards the door when someone knocked. It was Vladimir.

"Master Boris would like the team assembled in his office. I'm supposed to take you there." Knowing the drill by now, I followed Vladimir to the office.

The first thing I noticed was that the whole Demolition Boys team was there. The second thing I noticed was that so was Voltaire.

'_Well, there's the nimrod that wants to take over the world…_' I thought sarcastically. They thought I was obedient, so might as well make the most of that.

"I'm here, Boris." I said, bowing respectfully. When I looked up again, I saw that he had a look of surprise on his face for a split second. He quickly covered it up with a triumphant look, as if he thought I was a broken spirit. Oh how wrong he was…

"Mr. Voltaire, this is the girl I was telling you about. She has improved dramatically in the space of the past week. More so than most of our boys do in months." Boris said in a tone that just screamed 'suck up'.

"Yes, I seem to recall you talking about this girl. Has she been given a suitable Beyblade?" Voltaire asked while looking at me. He seemed to be looking me up and down. His gaze stopped a few times, mainly around my chest and crotch areas.

"My aren't on my chest. Up here." I said, using my finger to get his attention and leading his eyes to my face.

"You bitch! How dare you talk that way to the leader of BioVolt?!" Boris hissed. I stayed silent, since whenever I back-talked to someone, I normally always got hit. I'm amazed I wasn't hit for the comment about Voltaire's perverted-ness.

"No, Boris, it's quite alright. I expected nothing less from a neko-jin female." Voltaire waved off the yell. Boris gaped.

"B-but, sir! She just insulted you!"

"And I'm sure she meant every word. Now, if you don't be quiet, you're going to find yourself with a few less responsibilities." Voltaire said.

"Y-yes sir…" Boris looked stunned but soon regained his composure. He turned to the team. I got into line next to Spencer. He gave me a discreet glare.

"We are in this tournament to win. When you beat your opponents, you may take their Bitbeast as your prize. Understand?" Boris said almost viciously.

"Yes sir." The four Demolition Boys said in unison. Boris looked at me. "Understand, _Kitten_?" he sneered.

"Yes sir."

"Very good. You will all get into the van that the BBA has so generously provided for us."

"Yes sir." The five of us said. Tala lead the way out of the building. There was a large black van with the BBA symbol on it. Without a word, the four guys got in. I followed and ended up being squished between Spencer and Ian. (AN: I finally got the names paired with the right faces! Ian is the trigger happy midget! Spencer is the tall one!)

Suddenly feeling nervous, I managed to get Kuro out of my pocket and I began to fidget with it. Ian looked at the Blade, then at me with an odd look, and started talking to Tala in rapid Russian. Tala and Bryan both looked back at me, and Bryan said something to Tala and Tala said something to Ian. Biting my lip, I closed my eyes and tried to contact Kuro.

'_You awake?_' I asked.

'_Of course, little mistress. I don't sleep._'

'_Nice to know. I'm getting really nervous. What if I fail at the tournament? What will they do to me?_'

'_Don't worry, little mistress. With you wielding my power, we can't lose._'

'_If you say so, Kuro…_'

Sighing, I pulled out of the link and started to let my mind wander. This tournament was the biggest part of the whole first series, and I knew I was going to screw something up. And the Bladebreakers would be there, and Kai would be there… I already screwed something up, because if I hadn't run off, then Kai would have betrayed the Bladebreakers and gotten Black Dranzer like in the show. But since I was the one to get Kuro, Kai would have no reason to run off. I hope Boris doesn't make me take the other people's Bitbeasts…

I came out of my thoughts just as the van pulled up to the stadium. There was a crowd of fans outside the building, most waving notebooks and pens for autographs.

As soon, as we stepped out of the van, the crowd, mostly girls, started screaming. Most were Russian, and I heard a few other languages in there, including a few American girls, screaming things like "I LOVE YOU, TALA!" I bit my lip and grasped my phoenix necklace as I followed the guys into the building.

'_Relax, little mistress. Everything will be fine._' Kuro's voice echoed through my head.

'_Thanks, Kuro, I needed that._' Taking a deep breath, I followed the guys to the dressing rooms. Boris gave what sounded like a normal pep-talk, saying how we should give no mercy for we would be shown none. Then he led us out to the stadium. We were the first to battle.

Our opponents were dressed in odd robes; I assumed they came from a desert region. Spencer and Ian took care of them easily and took their Bitbeasts, one a golden falcon, Amun-Ra, from what I heard, and the other was a golden cobra, I think it was called Set. This must have been Team Egypt. (AN: gomen nasai, I'm not sure about how the opposing teams were ordered nor if they made it to the semis. I'm picking random countries, making sure to keep Japan, America, China, and Russia for the semi-finals)

We went up to the balcony near the stairs to watch the Bladebreakers take out Team Australia, Max and Rei easily defeating them. Then we watched the White Tigers beat Team Spain quickly. As much as I hate to admit it, Mariah did pretty well. We waited as a few other teams beat the crap out of each other, then it was our turn. We were up against Team India. Bryan and Ian took them out, and we left again to watch the Bladebreakers duke it out with the All Starz.

After that was intermission, for food and such. I was like on autopilot, not really thinking about what I was doing, just following my 'team'. I barely noticed the Bladebreakers take out the last team of the semis, the White Tigers. Now it was time for the finals.

I followed the team to the bench and waited for the intro. After the two teams were announced, Bryan stepped up to the dish. Rei did the same for the other team. He looked over to us and looked almost shocked. I mouthed 'I'm sorry' to him and then bit my lip.

I had to hold back tears as I watched Bryan's Falborg beat the shit out of Drigger and Rei being carried out of the stadium. I had to stop myself from punching him as he walked back, smirking.

From the Blade Breakers, Kai stepped up. Spencer was about to go up when Boris stopped him. I still refuse to call him 'Master'

"No, Spencer. Let our new kitten test her skills." I growled a bit when he called me 'kitten'. I walked into the ring and heard the announcer say something.

"...And it looks like a quick change of Bladers from the Demolition boys' team! Spencer was stopped from entering the ring and is being replaced by... What's this?! A girl on the team?! The only name given was 'Tigressa' so that's what we'll call her!" I turned to my opponent. I could see the surprise and hurt in his eyes. I quickly mouthed the words 'I'm sorry, Kai, but I had no choice.' Then I clicked Black Dranzer into my launcher.

"Three..." I put in my rip-cord.

"Two..." I got into my launch stance.

"One..." I gave Kai one last look of pleading. I gasped quietly when he returned it.

"Let it rip!" I pulled my rip-cord.

"Go, Dranzer!" Kai yelled.

"Black Dranzer, go!" I cried with some hesitation.

Both blades hit the dish and the Battle of the Phoenixes began.

* * *

ok, now that that's out... R&R, please? i need reviews to keep me alive! 


	7. 7: Lead Me Not Into Temptation

Edit: Alright, this is the real end, i messed up somewhere. Chapter 8 doesn't exist!

I don't own, there's my disclaimer!

* * *

"Dranzer, attack! Show no mercy!" Kai yelled to his Bitbeast. Dranzer charged at Kuro, clearly intent on following the issued command. 

"Um, ah… Kuro, get out of the way!" I cried, momentarily panicking. What felt like a fleece blanket flowed through my mind, making all of my thoughts slow and my mind hazy.

'_No, I will take the attack. Then you will command me to attack my lighter counterpart._' Kuro's voice cut through the fog like a knife. I just nodded slowly.

"Hold your ground, Kuro!" I said. A very small part of my brain said '_No, tell him to jump out of the way… why are you listening to him? He's trying to control you…_'

'_But…_' I thought numbly, '_Kuro would know best… Besides, it's warm and comfy…_'

'_No… take control back…_'

'_Why…? I like this feeling…_'

I watched dumbly as my Beyblade was shot into the air.

'_Command me to attack._' Kuro's voice told me.

"Kuro, attack now! Black Flame Arrow!" I yelled, obeying his command.

"Danzer, get out of the way!" Kai yelled. Without hesitation, Dranzer lunged out from under Kuro a split second before impact. Kuro hit the dish with a huge crash, and smoke billowed up everywhere.

"I can't see!" I cried, my mind still dimmed by Kuro's influence.

'_That does not matter. Command me to attack again!_' the warmth in my mind intensified, and my mind went even blanker.

"Kuro, attack again." I said in monotone. He happily obliged, slamming into Dranzer with no mercy. The little voice in the back of my head spoke up again, no more than a distant whisper.

'_Fight him. You don't want to do this. You don't want to destroy Kai._'

'_No, you will listen to me._' Kuro's voice cut in. The whisper got a bit louder and more persistent and the fog thinned a little.

'_Fight him, you can do it. Free yourself from his influence. Save Kai from him._'

'_You will obey me! I have the power to destroy your enemies! Together, we can conquer anyone! No one will oppose us as long as you obey!_'

'_He is supposed to obey you, not the other way around. You must not obey him._'

'_YOU WILL OBEY!_'

'_NO!_'

'_YES!_'

'_NO!_'

"Stop it!" I fell to my knees, covering my ears in an attempt to block out the sound. The little voice faded away, and the fog in my mind suddenly vanished.

I watched in horror as my lack of 'focus' caused the Beyblade to falter. Kai didn't hesitate as he ordered Dranzer to move in for the kill. I watched numbly as Kuro flew through the air to land at my feet with a series of faint _clicks_ as the blade bounced on the floor. Mechanically, I picked up my Beyblade and looked at the Bitchip. The chip glowed angrily, as if mad at my resistance and lapse of attention.

Boris was yelling something at me, but I wasn't listening. My eyes had somehow shifted their angle from Kuro to Kai. I watched his teammates congratulate him on his victory, assuring him that he could snag another one for them. I felt a flash of fiery orange stab through my heart and then fade to the more familiar troubled green of confusion. What was that unknown feeling?

'_It was jealousy, and anger. You want it to be YOU being congratulated and cheered for, not him._' Kuro's voice snaked through my head again. '_You are jealous of him, but do not worry. It will be you being congratulated soon enough. With my power, you will win the respect you so RIGHTLY deserve._'

I clenched one of my fists.

"I will win the respect I deserve…" I repeated softly. "Yes…" My hand tightened around the Beyblade. Another unknown feeling crept into my heart, this one darker than the last two. "I will win, and then everyone will see me as someone worth respecting."

'_Yes…_'

I put the Beyblade back on my launcher and waited for Kai to do the same.

"Three…" I whispered.

"Two…" I saw Kai's mouth form the word.

"One…" I literally growled.

"LET IT RIP!" We yelled it at the same time. Kuro and Dranzer hit each other in midair and landed in the dish with sparks flying.

"Why are you doing this?!" Kai's voice cut through my thoughts of gaining respect. "Why are you letting yourself be their pawn?"

I looked up at him.

"I'm not in it for them. I'm in this for myself." The gray of, for lack of a better word, desperation spread in my heart until it formed a cage. "I beat you, and I'll get the respect I deserve."

"BioVolt is trying to take over the world!"

"I know that. I knew that from the beginning."

"Then why--?"

"I want respect. I will get respect by showing my power by taking Dranzer from you." I stopped myself there. What was I saying? I pressed my eyes shut and tried to clear my head, but the gray cage over my heart refused to break. "Black Dranzer, emerge!" I called. Kuro eagerly rose from the Bitchip, in all of his black and red glory.

"Dranzer!" Kai yelled. Dranzer emerged from its own Bitchip in the same manner as Kuro: a dazzling display of light, wings flared and tail fluttering.

'_Showoff._' Kuro muttered.

"You look just the same." I replied. The gray cage around my heart tightened until it was almost painful. "Kuro! Smash Dranzer out of the dish!" Kuro shot at Dranzer, clearly intent on carrying out my order. Dranzer shifted out of the way just in time.

"Stop this!" Kai yelled to me.

"No! I need respect, I need people to actually care that I exist!" I cried back. At this, Kai seemed to hesitate, but that didn't surprise me nearly as much as what he said next.

"I care that you exist."

That was all it took. Yellow shock broke through the desperation and my concentration.

'_But it's Kai,_' I thought, '_he's supposed to be all 'everyone else can rot' and stuff. What's going on?_'

'_He likes you,_' said the little voice in my mind, weaker and softer than before but still there. '_He's probably just as confused as you are._'

'_But he showed emotion. That's not right. Nobody is supposed to care about me. And this is Kai. Kai doesn't LIKE people. He tolerates them._'

I shook my head. "No," I told myself, "I have to do this." I looked to the dish, where Kuro was sitting steadily in the center, taking every one of Dranzer's hits. "Kuro, tie this up! Knock Dranzer out of there!"

Everything happened fast. One moment, both blades were charging each other, and the next, Dranzer was lying at Kai's feet.

'_You have come to your senses,_' Kuro commented as he sprung back into my hand.

"You," I said, "shut up. I have a plan." Which I did. A rough one, anyway. Taking a deep breath, I tuned out everything but the battle. Pushing stray strands of black hair behind my ears, I got ready for the final launch.

"Three…" I said.

"Two…" Kai's mouth formed.

"One…"

"LET IT RIP!" We both yelled. Kuro and Dranzer met head-on in the center of the dish. I could hear the sharp edges grinding against each other as both tried to tear the other to shreds.

"Take it out, Dranzer!" Kai called.

"You heard him, Kuro," I commented. I felt the warm fuzzy try to blanket my mind again, and struggled to focus.

'_You are mine, kitten, and you do as I command,_' Kuro ordered. Then, with no warning, he _slammed_ into his lighter counterpart, breaking the blade apart. The only whole piece was the attack ring with the bitchip in it.

"The winner is Tigress!" I vaguely registered.

'_Go and claim his bitbeast as your own,_' Kuro said. Mechanically, I walked over to where Kai knelt, picking up the shattered pieces of his Beyblade.

"Dranzer is now mine," I heard myself say. Desperately, I tried to regain control of myself. I watched in horror as my arm rose and pointed Kuro at Dranzer, and the brilliant red light was absorbed into the blade.

'_You can't do this,_' a new voice cried, surprisingly female. '_You can't take me from Kai!_'

'_I believe she just did,_' Kuro remarked smugly. My body walked back and sat down with the Demolition team and the blanket over my mind vanished. Determined, I stood up.

"Boris," I called, "Dranzer is mine, right? To do with as I see fit?"

"That is correct, why do you ask?" he replied.

"Good." I looked towards the Bladebreakers and held up my Beyblade. "Dranzer," I ordered, "return to Kai!"

I watched in satisfaction as three things happened. As the red light flew joyfully back to Kai, Boris watched me in horror, Kai watched Dranzer returning in shock, and Kuro started raging.

'_You cannot do this!_' he shouted in my head, at the same time Boris yelled the exact same thing out loud.

"I believe," I said to both, "I just did."

Before I knew it, I was being manhandled out of the stadium and into the van that brought us here. Boris drove us back to the Abbey in record time, breaking every speed limit there was. Honestly, he was so mad I wondered why he didn't just knock me out, take Kuro, and leave me to my fate.

I was roughly shoved down halls and into my room, where Boris held out his hand.

"Give me Black Dranzer. You are not fit to wield it." I looked at him incredulously.

"No," I said simply. "He's mine." Boris sputtered before slamming the door in my face. "Bite me, old man," I said to the silence. Then, I made a split second decision. Gathering the few things of value I had there, I shoved them into a bag and opened the window. Looking at the ground from the second story, I swallowed hard and began to rethink my 'plan'.

'_Jump…_' Kuro suggested.

"Right," I said out loud. "Thanks, but no, I like my leg bones intact." Throwing a glance around my room, I spotted the bedsheets. "Aha." The five minutes afterwards were spent using my Beyblade's sharp edges to rip the sheets into strips and tying them together, like in the movies.

I made sure the knots were tight and tossed the make-shift rope out the window, securing it on the bed-frame.

I was about half-way down the first stretch of 'rope' when I made the mistake of looking down.

"OH shit, oh shit oh shit oh SHIT," I swore. Looking everywhere but at my feet, I quickly scurried down. My feet landed with a soft _pat_ on the concrete.

Glancing around quickly, I saw the front gate, unguarded.

'_Too easy,_' Kuro announced. '_It is a trap. Scale the walls to your left._'

"You want to go back into Voltaire's clutches, bird?" I asked under my breath, using a scrawny tree near the wall to climb.

'_No, which is why I am helping you leave._'

"Then stop ordering me around. Why the sudden change of heart, anyways? Last I checked, you were trying to mind-control me." I was over the wall and sprinting through the ice-crusted snow to get as far from the Abbey as possible.

'_You have only been recognized by one person. One person is not 'everyone'. You'll need me again._'

"I knew you had an ulterior motive."

Now I was wandering around the streets of Moscow, searching for anything vaguely familiar. Then I saw it.

"Oh thank God, the BBA," I said in relief. I hadn't taken two steps, though, before I felt something both blunt and sharp hit me in the back of the head. The last thing I registered was a brilliant red light before I lost my grasp on consciousness.

The first thing I knew when I woke up was that it was warm. My first thought was _hotel_, but that conflicted with the hard, wooden surface I was laying on.It was also contradicted by the chirping birds and fresh-smelling spring air. I opened my eyes to see faded, chipped blue paint on a horrifyingly familiar wooden deck.

Frantically, I sat up and looked around. Blue deck, white house, mulberry tree (because it had grown too much to be called a bush), shed, garage. Television in the house turned on with Saturday morning cartoons playing. Plastic Beydish in front of me. Plastic Beyblade in my hand.

"No," I whispered, "this can't be right, I was in Moscow, I was in the Tournament, I had Black Dranzer…"

I was home again.

It sucked ass.

Three long, boring, normal years later

As the only sixteen-year-old in the hobby store Beyblade Tournament, I was like a giant among hobbits. A giant among hobbits who was kicking major ass round after round. The children around me used the plastic versions of Drigger or Dragoon, with only a few adjustments. There were a few custom-made blades, like mine, that used pieces like Wolborg's attack ring and Trygle's spring mechanism.

I was sitting in the front row watching the battle that would decide my opponent for the final round. It was tied up with two draws and hopefully this match would decide it all. The two children got ready and launched their plastic Beyblades, but something went wrong.

One of the blades flew in the wrong direction, so instead of hitting the dish, I hit me in the side of the head. The weight disk, the only metal part, hit me square in the temple, making stars explode in my vision.

"Hey, are you okay, lady?" one of the littler kids asked. I nodded, trying to clear my vision. It didn't work, and my vision got darker.

Finally, I blacked out all together.

I woke up feeling extremely cold. And wet. To my left, I heard running water, as if I were near a stream or river. I opened my eyes, only to shut them again against the glare of the cheerful springtime sun. The ground under me was what was making me cold and wet, as if it had just rained. I was about to let myself fall back into sleep, just ignoring the cold, when I heard a familiar voice.

"Hey, who are you?"

"Kenny?" I exclaimed, sitting up so fast my back cracked. My shirt stuck to my skin uncomfortably.

"How do you know my name?" he asked. He was older than I remembered, and he'd traded in his old thick glasses for more sensible wire frames. His brown eyes looked slightly out of place against his pale skin, and his hair wasn't as wild as it was when he was younger. He was still wearing his olive-colored bottoms, but instead of shorts, they were pants, and his shirt and tie were the same as before.

"Wait, if it's Kenny, then Tyson isn't far and neither is Kai," I murmured to myself. "Kenny, don't you remember me? From a few years ago in Moscow?" I asked, louder.

Kenny looked confused for a moment before recognition blossomed.

"Meg?" he ventured. I nodded hopefully. Without warning, he was directly in front of me, hauling me to my feet by my wrist with more strength than I thought he had. "I know some people who'll want to see you again." With that, he was dragging me down the street. He stopped in front of what I knew to be Tyson's place for a split second before he pulled me into the dojo.

"Look who I found!" he announced. The Bladebreakers looked up, startled. It was Rei who recovered first.

"Is that you, Meg?" he asked, grinning. Kai snapped to attention

'_That's three,_' I thought in the back of my mind.

"Yeah," I answered, "I'm back." The words had barely left my mouth when I was swarmed with hugs from Max and Tyson. I was bombarded with questions, and it took most of the afternoon and evening to get caught up on everything. I didn't get a single moment to myself until after sunset, when everyone was gathered in the kitchen trying to get food.

"I missed you."

Well, almost everyone.

"Did you mean what you said?" I asked. "Back then, when you said you cared."

"I think so," Kai answered, leaning against the doorframe behind me. He hadn't changed a bit on the outside, other than getting taller.

"I'm glad," I said, "because that was what saved Dranzer, I think. How is she, by the way? And have you seen Black Dranzer anywhere?"

"No, and ask her yourself," he replied, saying more now than he ever had before. He tossed Dranzer to me, and I caught the blade out of reflex.

"Hey, long time no see," I whispered.

'_Welcome back,_' the feminine voice replied. '_I never got to thank you for releasing me._'

"Don't worry about it," I replied. I gently handed her back to Kai. I heard a faint _clink_ in the bushes near the house. I glanced at Kai and he shrugged. Quickly, I went over to the bushes and looked around.

In the darkness, I almost missed it, and I would have, if I hadn't pricked my finger on it. Reaching way down into the leaves, I pulled out Black Dranzer.

"Well, speak of the feathery black devil," I said.

'_Did I not tell you that you still needed me?_' he asked.

"That you did." I looked at Kai. "If I ever try to leave again, tie me down to something?" I requested. He nodded. On impulse, I ran to him and hugged him.

"Welcome back," he whispered.

"I know I am," I replied.

* * *

The End 


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